Here’s how I picture the planning for Chula Vista’s State of the City went down: Mayor John McCann in a room shooting down ideas like Miranda in the “Devil Wears Prada.”
How about you just give a speech from a podium? No, we did that last year. What if you just talk about the city’s accomplishments? No.
What if we play a Mission Impossible-style video and then a plane flew over the crowd and a skydiver parachuted down while the mayor walked up to the podium in a tux?
A skydiver for the State of the City? Groundbreaking.
In all seriousness, we’ve watched a lot of mayors address their cities, but Mayor McCann definitely shook things up this week with his flashy speech.
South County reporter Jim Hinch was in the audience and witnessed all the wild moments. Here’s what he had to say about it:
At what moment did you realize this wasn’t going to be your run-of-the-mill state of the city speech?
The minute it started. An emcee told everyone to take their seats and, boom, a Hollywood-style movie started up on screens behind the podium. Mission Impossible music played while the mayor, in the film, raced to get to his speech on time, taking an increasingly outlandish series of vehicles.
Culminating, of course, in the mayor donning a flight suit and filming himself leaping out of a airplane. At which point, a real airplane appeared overhead and a skydiver parachuted down.
Not run-of-the-mill, to say the least.
Chula Vista actually does have a lot to celebrate. What’s something that surprised you and that you will be following in future stories?
The mayor is up for re-election this year, so it’s no surprise he staged a splashy speech.
The city has done well during his first four years as mayor. His opponent, Chula Vista Elementary School District Trustee Francisco Tamayo, says the mayor hasn’t done enough to support the city’s immigrant community.
I’ll be watching to see which matters more to voters: Growth and fiscal stability or a full-throated defense of undocumented immigrants.
Read more about what went down here.
The Cop Statement War Goes Further
Remember when I told you San Diego’s top cop was fighting with the police union’s new president? They were beefing it over a statement Chief Scott Wahl made about an officer who punched a man in the face during an arrest.
Wahl spoke up about the incident and said it’s complicated but that “there are things we could have done better.”
San Diego Police Officers Association President Jeremy Huff didn’t appreciate the chief’s comments and said the chief’s words could harm officers. But then the chief clapped back saying weighing in is part of being a leader.
The news! Will Huntsberry reports that Chief Wahl is trying to fire Huff. The police department wouldn’t comment and neither would Huff, but Huntsberry goes through Huff’s somewhat troubled history in a new story. Read more here.
Trash Fee Repeal Scaries
There’s an effort afoot to repeal the city of San Diego’s trash fee. We wondered, just how hard would the city’s budget be hit if the repeal were successful?
City Hall reporter Mariana Martínez Barba reports that city leaders would be forced to cut up to $150 million from city services.
To put things into perspective, one source told Martínez Barba that the money generated from the fee is about 5 percent of the city’s budget. That’s more than what the city spends on the entire library system in a year.
Martínez Barba asked former Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who is leading the repeal effort on behalf of the Lincoln Club Business League, what he thought about the potential impact.
He said people are angry that the fee turned out to be higher than what city officials promised when voters allowed the city to charge for trash collection.
“This city survived for a hundred years without having to charge people for trash or having to charge families to go to Balboa Park. It’s about priorities,” he told Martínez Barba. He also said city officials can invest in public safety and employees “without having to fee and tax San Diegans to death.”
What do you think? Send me a note at andrea.sanchez@voiceofsandiego.org
More Chisme to Start Your Week
- Hinch wrote about how the Trump Administration’s immigration crackdown is impacting South County residents. It’s worth a read.
- Speaking of the trash fee, city officials say the city expects to bring in less revenue from the fee because residents are choosing smaller, lower-cost bins. Read more here.